![]() Specific epithet means resembling the genus Glyptostrobus. Genus name comes from the Greek words metra meaning with, after, sharing, or changed in nature and Sequoia to which it is related and to which fossil specimens were first referred. The twigs, needles and cone scales are in opposite pairs. Trees are monoecious, producing oval, light brown female cones (3/4” long) and pendant globose male cones (1/2” long). Foliage emerges light green in spring, matures to deep green in summer and turns red-bronze in fall. It features linear, feathery, fern-like foliage that is soft to the touch. The fossil record of Metasequoia Miki is extensive and demonstrates that the genus was widely distributed throughout North America and Eurasia from the early Late Cretaceous to the Plio-Pleistocene. ![]() Bark on mature trees is often deeply fissured. As the tree matures, the trunk broadens at the base and develops attractive and sometimes elaborate fluting. The exact size of the pieces varies, but most of the pieces are 1 1/2 to 2 1/2' across. Each of these detailed fossils is on a thin piece of tan colored shale. Seedlings grown therefrom were planted in front of the Lehmann Building at MBG in 1952 where they have now developed into large mature trees (70’+ tall). Download this stock image: Dawn redwood metasequoia glyptostroboides also known a the fossil tree, illuminated by the rising sun on a humid summer morning. These are fossil Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia occidentalis) branches from the Muddy Creek Formation of Beaverhead County, Montana. Seeds collected from the original site were made available to the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1947. The Metasequoia flourished in the Miocene epoch of 25 to 5 million years ago and left its record embedded in rocks across the Oregon landscape. However, it was not until 1941 that it was first discovered growing in the wild near the town of Modaoqi, China by Chinese forester, T. Metasequoia (Oregon State Fossil) from the Oregon Blue Book - The legislature designated the Metasequoia, or dawn redwood, as the official state fossil for Oregon by resolution in 2005. From fossil records, dawn redwood is known to have existed as many as 50,000,000 years ago. It is related to and closely resembles bald cypress ( Taxodium) and redwood ( Sequoia). Metasequoia glyptostroboides, commonly called dawn redwood, is a deciduous, coniferous tree that grows in a conical shape to 100’ tall.
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